Working in a small environment, I am fortunate to see and talk with all of our staff every day. However, in a larger property, senior management often loses sight of the people who really run the hotel. We get bogged down in administrative tasks, meetings, reports, client lunches, etc. And if you add guest contact to the mix, employees can end-up feeling left out.

Try this…

Once a day, at a minimum, go out and nurture your relationship with your staff. But, here’s the key. When you walk around, you can’t have your own agenda. No inspections, no why is this out of place, no catch-up on previous issues. You need to convey genuine interest in the employee. You need to let them talk to you about what they want to talk about…nothing else. It might be the weather, their kids, or even personal problems. Your job is to listen and appreciate whatever it is they convey to you. If you catch-on that they are trying to tell you stuff they think you want to hear, ask them questions about something else. Leave “your agenda” at the office.

Each time you do this, you’ll find the staff will open-up more and more as your relationship becomes more genuine and not just “the boss is here looking at stuff again”.